Romancing the Reader
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Romancing the Reader BY TARA EBRAHIMI, Assistant Editor
D
iane Wylie is a writer, not only of the technical variety, but also of the romantic variety. With three historical romance novels in print right now (and more on the way!), Wylie has taken her passion for writing in a different direction—and has seen a great deal of success. After her children grew older, Diane discovered she had a lot of extra time on her hands. An avid reader, she devoured many books, her favorite being historical romances. Of her jump into writing a historical romance, she said, “I came across a few badly written pieces and thought I would try my hand at writing. After all, I was a technical writer. How hard could it be? I found it was a fun kind of mid-life crisis.” Flash forward to the present. Diane has three novels published by Vintage Romance Publishing, all set during the American Civil War. Her first, Secrets and Sacrifices, tells the story of Charlotte, a young woman who disguises herself as a boy to join the Confederate Army. Her next novel, Jenny’s Passion, is a love story between enemies; Southern belle Jennifer Winston falls for an injured Yankee soldier she discovered on her father’s plantation. Her
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third novel, Lila’s Vow, is the story of a married couple that must learn to cope with long periods of separation and the effects of post-traumatic stress disorder. Of all her novels, Lila’s Vow is Diane’s favorite. “As a lady married to a veteran myself, I find that I empathize the most with [those characters],” she said.
Writing novels is very rewarding, but like most rewarding endeavors, it takes a great deal of time and dedication. Diane spent two years writing her first book, and about one year on each of her subsequent books. Because the novels are based on historical events, a lot of research is required. Every detail needs to be accurate, including the characters’ clothing, what they eat, their language, and more. Once the book is completed,
finding a publisher is almost more time consuming than the actual writing! “Inspiration can come from anywhere for me. It can come from a book, from the Internet, from a TV show, or from the news,” Diane said. “For example, I started writing Secrets and Sacrifices around the start of the Iraq war. Like so many others, I anxiously followed the story of Jessica Lynch, the female soldier who had been captured and rescued by her fellow soldiers. Jessica was the inspiration for [Charlotte], my female Confederate soldier.” She also finds inspiration from and admires the writing of authors such as JK Rowling, Janet Evanovich, and Diana Gabaldon, for their successes in their chosen genres. Diane loves the genre of historical romance because you can learn about various time periods and cultures while still being entertained. She considers historical fiction “a painless history lesson presented in a way that brings the people of the time to life.” This is what she hopes to achieve with her novels. One of her readers was so taken with the way a character escaped from Fort Delaware that he took his family for an outing there.
For Diane, this is a sign that she has succeeded. Diane is a technical writer at the U.S. Army’s Edgewood Chemical Biological Center on the Aberdeen Proving Ground in Maryland. The chemists perform experiments while Diane writes and edits the technical reports that document their findings. In her opinion, the nuts and bolts of writing a novel aren’t that different than writing technical documentation. The difference lies in the source. “The same rules of grammar, punctuation, and all of that still apply to fiction, but the writing itself comes from within me, instead of an external source,” she said. “By that, I mean that in my technical writing career someone else has always directed what to document. With my novels, I decide where my characters go, and what they say, feel, and do.” Diane’s advice for all the fledgling writers out there: “Remember, no matter what you write, whether it is a hardware manual, online help, technical report, or romance novel, there is a reader at the other end. They are our mission.” For excerpts, check out Diane’s website at www .dianewylie.com. Nancy R. Cohen/Getty Images
Romancing the Reader BY TARA EBRAHIMI, Assistant Editor
D
iane Wylie is a writer, not only of the technical variety, but also of the romantic variety. With three historical romance novels in print right now (and more on the way!), Wylie has taken her passion for writing in a different direction—and has seen a great deal of success. After her children grew older, Diane discovered she had a lot of extra time on her hands. An avid reader, she devoured many books, her favorite being historical romances. Of her jump into writing a historical romance, she said, “I came across a few badly written pieces and thought I would try my hand at writing. After all, I was a technical writer. How hard could it be? I found it was a fun kind of mid-life crisis.” Flash forward to the present. Diane has three novels published by Vintage Romance Publishing, all set during the American Civil War. Her first, Secrets and Sacrifices, tells the story of Charlotte, a young woman who disguises herself as a boy to join the Confederate Army. Her next novel, Jenny’s Passion, is a love story between enemies; Southern belle Jennifer Winston falls for an injured Yankee soldier she discovered on her father’s plantation. Her
36
third novel, Lila’s Vow, is the story of a married couple that must learn to cope with long periods of separation and the effects of post-traumatic stress disorder. Of all her novels, Lila’s Vow is Diane’s favorite. “As a lady married to a veteran myself, I find that I empathize the most with [those characters],” she said.
Writing novels is very rewarding, but like most rewarding endeavors, it takes a great deal of time and dedication. Diane spent two years writing her first book, and about one year on each of her subsequent books. Because the novels are based on historical events, a lot of research is required. Every detail needs to be accurate, including the characters’ clothing, what they eat, their language, and more. Once the book is completed,
finding a publisher is almost more time consuming than the actual writing! “Inspiration can come from anywhere for me. It can come from a book, from the Internet, from a TV show, or from the news,” Diane said. “For example, I started writing Secrets and Sacrifices around the start of the Iraq war. Like so many others, I anxiously followed the story of Jessica Lynch, the female soldier who had been captured and rescued by her fellow soldiers. Jessica was the inspiration for [Charlotte], my female Confederate soldier.” She also finds inspiration from and admires the writing of authors such as JK Rowling, Janet Evanovich, and Diana Gabaldon, for their successes in their chosen genres. Diane loves the genre of historical romance because you can learn about various time periods and cultures while still being entertained. She considers historical fiction “a painless history lesson presented in a way that brings the people of the time to life.” This is what she hopes to achieve with her novels. One of her readers was so taken with the way a character escaped from Fort Delaware that he took his family for an outing there.
For Diane, this is a sign that she has succeeded. Diane is a technical writer at the U.S. Army’s Edgewood Chemical Biological Center on the Aberdeen Proving Ground in Maryland. The chemists perform experiments while Diane writes and edits the technical reports that document their findings. In her opinion, the nuts and bolts of writing a novel aren’t that different than writing technical documentation. The difference lies in the source. “The same rules of grammar, punctuation, and all of that still apply to fiction, but the writing itself comes from within me, instead of an external source,” she said. “By that, I mean that in my technical writing career someone else has always directed what to document. With my novels, I decide where my characters go, and what they say, feel, and do.” Diane’s advice for all the fledgling writers out there: “Remember, no matter what you write, whether it is a hardware manual, online help, technical report, or romance novel, there is a reader at the other end. They are our mission.” For excerpts, check out Diane’s website at www .dianewylie.com. Nancy R. Cohen/Getty Images
